diff --git a/packages/app/e2e/browser/composer-attachments.spec.ts b/packages/app/e2e/browser/composer-attachments.spec.ts
index 94a52ace16..694bfa0f80 100644
--- a/packages/app/e2e/browser/composer-attachments.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/app/e2e/browser/composer-attachments.spec.ts
@@ -13,9 +13,7 @@ import {
   closeImageLightbox,
   pressInterruptShortcut,
   expectComposerDraft,
-  expectComposerDisabled,
   expectComposerEditable,
-  expectAttachButtonDisabled,
   fillComposerDraft,
   dropFileOnComposer,
   sendDraftToQueue,
@@ -268,7 +266,9 @@ test.describe("Composer attachments", () => {
     }
   });
 
-  test("composer is locked while new workspace agent is being created", async ({ page }) => {
+  test("composer and attachments stay available while new workspace agent is being created", async ({
+    page,
+  }) => {
     test.setTimeout(120_000);
     const serverId = getServerId();
 
@@ -298,8 +298,9 @@ test.describe("Composer attachments", () => {
       await agentCreatedDelay.waitForCreateRequest();
       await agentCreatedDelay.waitForDelayedCreatedStatus();
 
-      await expectComposerDisabled(page);
-      await expectAttachButtonDisabled(page);
+      await expectComposerEditable(page);
+      await attachImageFromMenu(page, TEST_IMAGE);
+      await expectAttachmentPill(page, "composer-image-attachment-pill");
 
       agentCreatedDelay.release();
 
diff --git a/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace-composer-draft.spec.ts b/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace-composer-draft.spec.ts
index 906efcfb42..3b4d706dca 100644
--- a/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace-composer-draft.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace-composer-draft.spec.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
+import { observeCreationRequests } from "../support/helpers/creation";
 import {
   composerLocator,
   enterComposerFullscreen,
-  exitComposerFullscreen,
+  fillComposerDraft,
   resizeComposerViewport,
 } from "../support/helpers/composer";
 import { expect, test } from "../support/fixtures";
@@ -95,6 +96,7 @@ test.describe("New workspace composer draft", () => {
 
   test("does not restore a submitted draft after deferred publication", async ({ page }) => {
     const project = await seedWorkspace({ repoPrefix: "new-workspace-submitted-draft-" });
+    const requests = await observeCreationRequests(page);
 
     try {
       await gotoAppShell(page);
@@ -134,6 +136,9 @@ test.describe("New workspace composer draft", () => {
       }, DRAFT);
 
       await page.waitForURL((url) => url.pathname.includes("/workspace/"), { timeout: 30_000 });
+      // Navigation now precedes creation; wait for success before checking consumed input.
+      await expect.poll(requests.workspaceRequests).toBe(1);
+      await requests.settled();
       await openGlobalNewWorkspaceComposer(page);
       await expectNewWorkspaceDraft(page, "");
     } finally {
@@ -142,10 +147,11 @@ test.describe("New workspace composer draft", () => {
   });
 });
 
-test("fullscreen creation returns inline and keeps submission locked when reopened", async ({
+test("fullscreen creation opens the inline agent composer and keeps follow-up editing available", async ({
   page,
 }) => {
   const project = await seedWorkspace({ repoPrefix: "fullscreen-submit-pending-" });
+  const followUpDraft = `${DRAFT}\nKeep this follow-up draft.`;
   const delay = await delayBrowserWorkspaceCreatedResponse(page);
   try {
     await gotoAppShell(page);
@@ -157,25 +163,23 @@ test("fullscreen creation returns inline and keeps submission locked when reopen
     await page.getByRole("button", { name: "Create", exact: true }).click();
     await delay.waitForCreateRequest();
 
-    await test.step("submission returns inline with the original draft and spinner", async () => {
+    await test.step("submission opens the normal agent panel inline", async () => {
+      await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/workspace\//);
       await expect(page.getByTestId("composer-fullscreen")).toHaveCount(0);
-      await expect(composerLocator(page)).toHaveValue(DRAFT);
-      await expect(composerLocator(page)).not.toBeEditable();
-      await expect(page.getByRole("button", { name: "Create", exact: true })).toBeDisabled();
-      await expect(page.getByRole("progressbar")).toBeVisible();
+      await expect(page.getByTestId("user-message").filter({ visible: true })).toContainText(DRAFT);
+      await expect(composerLocator(page)).toHaveValue("");
+      await expect(composerLocator(page)).toBeEditable();
     });
-    await test.step("fullscreen can reopen while pending without unlocking or duplicating submission", async () => {
+    await test.step("fullscreen can reopen to edit a follow-up while creation is pending", async () => {
+      await fillComposerDraft(page, followUpDraft);
       await enterComposerFullscreen(page);
       await expect(page.getByTestId("composer-fullscreen")).toBeVisible();
-      await expect(composerLocator(page)).toHaveValue(DRAFT);
-      await expect(composerLocator(page)).not.toBeEditable();
-      await expect(page.getByRole("button", { name: "Create", exact: true })).toBeDisabled();
-      await expect(page.getByRole("progressbar")).toBeVisible();
-      await exitComposerFullscreen(page);
+      await expect(composerLocator(page)).toHaveValue(followUpDraft);
+      await expect(composerLocator(page)).toBeEditable();
     });
     delay.release();
     await page.waitForURL((url) => url.pathname.includes("/workspace/"));
-    await expect(composerLocator(page)).toHaveValue("");
+    await expect(composerLocator(page)).toHaveValue(followUpDraft);
     await expect(composerLocator(page)).toBeEditable();
     expect(delay.agentRequests).toHaveLength(1);
   } finally {
diff --git a/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace-dictation-submit.spec.ts b/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace-dictation-submit.spec.ts
index 22b2b8a6c5..43ea1b8db5 100644
--- a/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace-dictation-submit.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace-dictation-submit.spec.ts
@@ -192,11 +192,16 @@ test.describe("New Workspace dictation submit", () => {
       await harness.waitForCreateRequest();
 
       const composer = page.getByRole("textbox", { name: "Message agent..." });
-      await expect(composer).toHaveValue(TRANSCRIPT);
-      await expect(composer).not.toBeEditable();
+      await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/workspace\//);
+      await expect(page.getByTestId("user-message").filter({ visible: true })).toContainText(
+        TRANSCRIPT,
+      );
+      await expect(composer).toHaveValue("");
+      await expect(composer).toBeEditable();
 
       harness.failWorkspaceCreation();
 
+      await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/new\?/);
       await expect(composer).toBeEditable();
       await expect(composer).toHaveValue(TRANSCRIPT);
       await expect(page.getByText(CREATE_FAILURE).first()).toBeVisible();
diff --git a/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace.spec.ts b/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace.spec.ts
index 7206c9f52e..7b5b321cf4 100644
--- a/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/app/e2e/browser/new-workspace.spec.ts
@@ -504,7 +504,7 @@ test.describe("New workspace flow", () => {
     }
   });
 
-  test("redirects to the optimistic draft tab before agent creation resolves", async ({ page }) => {
+  test("opens the final agent tab before agent creation resolves", async ({ page }) => {
     const serverId = getServerId();
 
     const tempRepo = await createTempGitRepo("new-workspace-optimistic-");
@@ -568,10 +568,10 @@ test.describe("New workspace flow", () => {
       await expect(activeWorkspaceDeckEntry).toBeVisible({ timeout: 30_000 });
 
       const draftTabs = activeWorkspaceDeckEntry.locator('[data-testid^="workspace-tab-draft_"]');
-      await expect(draftTabs).toHaveCount(1, { timeout: 30_000 });
+      await expect(draftTabs).toHaveCount(0);
       await expect(
         activeWorkspaceDeckEntry.locator('[data-testid^="workspace-tab-agent_"]'),
-      ).toHaveCount(0);
+      ).toHaveCount(1, { timeout: 30_000 });
 
       agentCreatedDelay.release();
       await expect(
diff --git a/packages/app/src/composer/draft/input-draft.ts b/packages/app/src/composer/draft/input-draft.ts
index c14db9a119..c5d66ede09 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/composer/draft/input-draft.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/composer/draft/input-draft.ts
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ export interface AgentInputDraft {
   attachments: UserComposerAttachment[];
   setAttachments: (updater: AttachmentUpdater) => void;
   clear: (lifecycle: "sent" | "abandoned") => void;
+  flush: () => void;
   isHydrated: boolean;
   attachmentFocusRequestId: number;
   composerState: DraftComposerState | null;
@@ -172,6 +173,8 @@ export function useAgentInputDraft(input: UseAgentInputDraftInput): AgentInputDr
     [draftKey, textPublication],
   );
 
+  const flushDraft = useCallback(() => textPublication.flush(), [textPublication]);
+
   const replaceText = useCallback(
     (nextText: string) => {
       textPublication.cancel();
@@ -351,6 +354,7 @@ export function useAgentInputDraft(input: UseAgentInputDraftInput): AgentInputDr
   return {
     textSource,
     editText,
+    flush: flushDraft,
     replaceText,
     textReplacement,
     attachments,
diff --git a/packages/app/src/hooks/sidebar-workspaces-view-model.ts b/packages/app/src/hooks/sidebar-workspaces-view-model.ts
index da1086da45..70f7280c9a 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/hooks/sidebar-workspaces-view-model.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/hooks/sidebar-workspaces-view-model.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import type { CreationAttempt } from "@/workspace-creation/model";
 import { deriveEffectiveWorkspaceStatus } from "@/workspace-status";
 import equal from "fast-deep-equal";
 import type { PrHint } from "@/git/pr-hint";
@@ -146,6 +147,7 @@ export function createSidebarWorkspaceEntry(input: {
   workspace: WorkspaceDescriptor;
   projectViewKey?: string;
   pendingCreateAttempts?: Record<string, PendingCreateAttempt>;
+  workspaceCreations?: readonly CreationAttempt[];
   workspaceAgentActivity?: ReadonlyMap<string, WorkspaceAgentActivity>;
 }): SidebarWorkspaceEntry {
   const projectViewKey = input.projectViewKey ?? input.workspace.projectId;
@@ -203,6 +205,7 @@ export function deriveProjectStatusBucket(input: {
   workspaces: readonly SidebarWorkspacePlacement[];
   sessions: Record<string, ProjectStatusSession | undefined>;
   pendingCreateAttempts?: Record<string, PendingCreateAttempt>;
+  workspaceCreations?: readonly CreationAttempt[];
 }): SidebarStateBucket {
   const workspaceIdsByServer = new Map<string, string[]>();
   for (const placement of input.workspaces) {
@@ -230,6 +233,7 @@ export function deriveProjectStatusBucket(input: {
           serverId,
           workspace,
           pendingCreateAttempts: input.pendingCreateAttempts,
+          workspaceCreations: input.workspaceCreations,
           workspaceAgentActivity: session.workspaceAgentActivity,
         }).status,
       );
@@ -348,6 +352,7 @@ export function buildSidebarWorkspaceEntries(input: {
   placements: readonly SidebarWorkspacePlacement[];
   sessions: SidebarWorkspaceSession[];
   pendingCreateAttempts?: Record<string, PendingCreateAttempt>;
+  workspaceCreations?: readonly CreationAttempt[];
   previousEntries?: ReadonlyMap<string, SidebarWorkspaceEntry>;
 }): ReadonlyMap<string, SidebarWorkspaceEntry> {
   if (input.placements.length === 0 || input.sessions.length === 0) {
@@ -374,6 +379,7 @@ export function buildSidebarWorkspaceEntries(input: {
       workspace,
       projectViewKey: placement.projectViewKey,
       pendingCreateAttempts: input.pendingCreateAttempts,
+      workspaceCreations: input.workspaceCreations,
       workspaceAgentActivity: session.workspaceAgentActivity,
     });
     const previousEntry = input.previousEntries?.get(placement.workspaceKey);
diff --git a/packages/app/src/hooks/use-sidebar-workspace-entries.ts b/packages/app/src/hooks/use-sidebar-workspace-entries.ts
index 8bea1109eb..cf5c0403a7 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/hooks/use-sidebar-workspace-entries.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/hooks/use-sidebar-workspace-entries.ts
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ export function useSidebarWorkspaceEntries(
         placements,
         sessions,
         pendingCreateAttempts,
+        workspaceCreations: creations,
         previousEntries: previousEntriesRef.current,
       }),
     );
diff --git a/packages/app/src/hooks/use-sidebar-workspaces-list.ts b/packages/app/src/hooks/use-sidebar-workspaces-list.ts
index 90745ec57b..b2d2c48190 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/hooks/use-sidebar-workspaces-list.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/hooks/use-sidebar-workspaces-list.ts
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ export function useSidebarProjectStatusBucket(input: {
   enabled: boolean;
 }): SidebarStateBucket | null {
   const { workspaces, enabled } = input;
+  const workspaceCreations = useWorkspaceCreations();
   const pendingCreateAttempts = useStoreWithEqualityFn(
     useCreateFlowStore,
     (state) => state.pendingByDraftId,
@@ -75,9 +76,10 @@ export function useSidebarProjectStatusBucket(input: {
         workspaces,
         sessions: state.sessions,
         pendingCreateAttempts,
+        workspaceCreations,
       });
     },
-    [enabled, pendingCreateAttempts, workspaces],
+    [enabled, pendingCreateAttempts, workspaces, workspaceCreations],
   );
 
   return useStoreWithEqualityFn(useSessionStore, selector, Object.is);
diff --git a/packages/app/src/panels/agent-panel.tsx b/packages/app/src/panels/agent-panel.tsx
index 1dc8a59730..18eaacead6 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/panels/agent-panel.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/panels/agent-panel.tsx
@@ -1151,6 +1151,7 @@ const ChatAgentReadyContent = memo(function ChatAgentReadyContent({
   const {
     textSource,
     editText,
+    flush,
     replaceText,
     textReplacement,
     attachments,
@@ -1164,6 +1165,7 @@ const ChatAgentReadyContent = memo(function ChatAgentReadyContent({
     (): AgentInputDraft => ({
       textSource,
       editText,
+      flush,
       replaceText,
       textReplacement,
       attachments,
@@ -1176,6 +1178,7 @@ const ChatAgentReadyContent = memo(function ChatAgentReadyContent({
     [
       textSource,
       editText,
+      flush,
       replaceText,
       textReplacement,
       attachments,
diff --git a/packages/app/src/screens/new-workspace-screen.tsx b/packages/app/src/screens/new-workspace-screen.tsx
index 3ba75ac3c4..1fbad2174e 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/screens/new-workspace-screen.tsx
+++ b/packages/app/src/screens/new-workspace-screen.tsx
@@ -688,6 +688,7 @@ export function NewWorkspaceScreen({
     cwd: selectedSourceDirectory ?? "",
   });
 
+  const flushChatDraft = chatDraft.flush;
   const worktreeSupport = selectedProject
     ? getWorktreeSupportForHostProject({ project: selectedProject, serverId: selectedServerId })
     : "unsupported";
@@ -970,6 +971,8 @@ export function NewWorkspaceScreen({
           return;
         }
 
+        // Capture the submitted version after publishing any last-keystroke edit.
+        flushChatDraft();
         const attempt = submitWorkspaceChat({
           serverId: selectedServerId,
           key: creationIdentity.draftId,
@@ -1013,6 +1016,7 @@ export function NewWorkspaceScreen({
       draftContextScopeKey,
       creationIdentity,
       chatDraft.clear,
+      flushChatDraft,
       draftKey,
       ensureWorkspace,
       forkDraftSetup,
diff --git a/packages/app/src/workspace-status/index.ts b/packages/app/src/workspace-status/index.ts
index 45bf68ab8e..32dd3133f8 100644
--- a/packages/app/src/workspace-status/index.ts
+++ b/packages/app/src/workspace-status/index.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import { useWorkspaceCreations } from "@/workspace-creation";
+import type { CreationAttempt } from "@/workspace-creation/model";
 import { useShallow } from "zustand/shallow";
 import { useCreateFlowStore, type PendingCreateAttempt } from "@/stores/create-flow-store";
 import { useSessionStore, type WorkspaceDescriptor } from "@/stores/session-store";
@@ -13,12 +15,21 @@ export function deriveEffectiveWorkspaceStatus(input: {
   serverId: string;
   workspace: WorkspaceDescriptor;
   pendingCreateAttempts?: Record<string, PendingCreateAttempt>;
+  workspaceCreations?: readonly CreationAttempt[];
   workspaceAgentActivity?: ReadonlyMap<string, WorkspaceAgentActivity>;
 }): EffectiveWorkspaceStatus {
   if (input.workspace.status !== "done") {
     return { status: input.workspace.status, enteredAt: input.workspace.statusEnteredAt };
   }
 
+  const creation = input.workspaceCreations?.find(
+    (attempt) =>
+      attempt.serverId === input.serverId &&
+      attempt.workspaceId === input.workspace.id &&
+      attempt.phase !== "complete",
+  );
+  if (creation) return { status: "running", enteredAt: creation.message?.timestamp ?? null };
+
   const pendingStartedAt = getPendingInitialAgentCreateStartedAt({
     serverId: input.serverId,
     workspaceId: input.workspace.id,
@@ -55,6 +66,7 @@ function getPendingInitialAgentCreateStartedAt(input: {
 }
 
 export function useWorkspaceStatus(serverId: string, workspaceId: string) {
+  const workspaceCreations = useWorkspaceCreations();
   const pendingCreateAttempts = useCreateFlowStore((state) => state.pendingByDraftId);
   return useSessionStore(
     useShallow((state) => {
@@ -67,6 +79,7 @@ export function useWorkspaceStatus(serverId: string, workspaceId: string) {
         serverId,
         workspace,
         pendingCreateAttempts,
+        workspaceCreations,
         workspaceAgentActivity: session.workspaceAgentActivity,
       }).status;
     }),
diff --git a/packages/server/src/server/agent/create-agent/intent.test.ts b/packages/server/src/server/agent/create-agent/intent.test.ts
index f666206ea2..8419337c29 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/server/agent/create-agent/intent.test.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/server/agent/create-agent/intent.test.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { resolve } from "node:path";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { PARENT_AGENT_ID_LABEL } from "@getpaseo/protocol/agent-labels";
 import { resolveCreateAgentIntent } from "./intent.js";
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ describe("resolveCreateAgentIntent", () => {
         throw new Error("Unexpected workspace creation");
       },
     });
-    expect(intent.cwd).toBe("/new/packages/app");
+    expect(intent.cwd).toBe(resolve("/new", "packages/app"));
     expect(intent.workspaceId).toBe("workspace-new");
     expect(intent.parentAgentId).toBe("parent");
   });